


a kind of sunkissed skin

by MrSpockify



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, The Gaang Learns How Zuko Got The Scar (Avatar), because theres obviously not enough fics of that trope, everyone gets a sunburn but Zuko and they have Questions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24950962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrSpockify/pseuds/MrSpockify
Summary: “I see you got out just fine, though,” Suki said, crossing her arms and watching the Fire Nation prince carefully.Zuko shrugged. “Fire benders have a natural tolerance to heat. Our skin doesn’t really burn.” He opened a drawer and found a small, dusty container of ointment and pulled it out. “It comes in handy when you’re always surrounded by fire.” When he turned around, he found the rest of the group watching him with expressions Zuko couldn’t quite place. He held out the balm to Katara, but she hesitated before taking it. “What’s wrong?” Zuko asked.Aang looked at him uncomfortably. “I don’t want to accuse you of being a liar, but…”“But what?”“Your face, man,” Sokka supplied with his usual grace.
Relationships: The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 3174
Collections: Quality Fics, avatar tingz





	a kind of sunkissed skin

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory The Gaang Finds Out fic, because I'm a sucker for a classic trope, what can I say?

They didn’t often get a chance to relax and allow themselves to forget about the growing pressure of saving the world, so when a warm, sunny day inspired the gaang to spend the day at the beach, they elected to take it and enjoy it. They swam and splashed each other in the water, built sculptures and buried Aang in the sand, and generally let themselves have fun for the first time in a while. Even Zuko sat contentedly on the beach, leaning back on his hands with his head tilted up like he was soaking up every ounce of sunlight he could get. 

Before they knew it, the Sun was setting and the day was over. They made their way back into Zuko’s family’s old vacation home, and the fire bender took a moment to light all the lanterns lining the walls. After lighting the last one, he turned back to the group and froze.

“Oh,” he mumbled, a smile playing at the edge of his lips. “Oh, no.”

Each of them—Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph alike—were burnt to a crisp. Katara and Toph had matching pink cheeks and noses, Sokka and Suki’s shoulders were painted with red, and Aang’s poor, poor bald head was probably the worst of all. They all looked at each other, suddenly becoming aware of the predicament.

“Aw, man,” Sokka whined, poking his own arm and watching the burnt skin turn a lighter shade for just a moment before fading back to an angry scarlet.

“What’s the matter?” Toph asked with a mischievous grin before slapping her friend on his bare shoulder. Sokka tensed up, visibly holding back a yelp. When he raised a hand to smack her back, Toph leveled him with a warning look, and he lowered his hand back down, clearly thinking better of the action.

“Well, I guess we really should have seen this coming,” Katara muttered, already bending water out of a pouch and moving it across her arms. She wasn’t sure she could heal it, but at least it felt better. Aang moved over to stand beside her, pouting and tilting his burned scalp towards her pathetically until Katara rolled her eyes and started bending the water over his head. He sighed contentedly.

“I’m sure there’s some old balm around here somewhere,” Zuko offered, starting to rummage through drawers. He also needed an excuse to turn away so no one could see him trying not to laugh at the group of lobster-snakes.

“I see _you_ got out just fine, though,” Suki said, crossing her arms and watching the Fire Nation prince carefully.

Zuko shrugged. “Fire benders have a natural tolerance to heat. Our skin doesn’t really burn.” He opened a drawer and found a small, dusty container of ointment and pulled it out. “It comes in handy when you’re always surrounded by fire.” When he turned around, he found the rest of the group watching him with expressions Zuko couldn’t quite place. He held out the balm to Katara, but she hesitated before taking it. “What’s wrong?” Zuko asked.

“Well…” Aang rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before hissing in pain and pulling his hand away. Katara stepped behind him and started applying ointment to the area, but she also seemed eager for an opportunity to look away from Zuko. Aang looked at him uncomfortably. “I don’t want to accuse you of being a liar, but…”

“But what?”

“Your face, man,” Sokka supplied with his usual grace.

Zuko paused, glancing around at everyone to realize that, yeah, they were all staring at him, but specifically they were looking at him the way he’d gotten used to over the past few years. It used to be so much more obvious, the way a person’s gaze was always skewed a little to the left when they spoke to him, trying and failing to look subtle. Sometimes they weren’t even trying to be subtle, just like everyone was right now. They just stared, and the sensation of everyone’s eyes on his scar made it feel like it was blistering all over again.

“Oh,” he mumbled, cheeks growing hot, and he wished suddenly he had a sunburn to hide it. “It’s not… That was different.” He turned his face to the side, hiding his scar. Everyone seemed to take the hint, most having the decency to look guilty for staring.

“What about his face?” Toph asked, somehow making the room impossibly tenser.

“His scar, Toph,” Katara answered, her voice quiet. She was finished applying balm to Aang’s burns, but she still stood behind him, as if that could save her from the discomfort filling the air.

“Is it that bad?” Toph screwed up her face, thinking for a second before she surged forward. “Let me see it,” she demanded, holding both her hands out.

“ _No_!” Zuko stumbled back into a wall, slamming his head against it in his haste. He paid no attention to the sting, just backing himself into a corner like he might be able to just disappear if he pressed himself back far enough. Toph had stepped away, but he still felt like someone—or something—was looming just ahead of him, ready to strike.

“It’s okay, Sparky,” Toph said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “I don’t have to see it.”

Zuko hid his trembling hands behind his back. It was irritating to know that Toph could still probably sense it.

“You don’t need to see it.” Zuko snapped. “I’m sorry anyone has to see it at all. It’s big and it’s ugly and it’s shameful.”

“Zuko,” Suki said, “it’s not—”

“Yes, it _is_ ,” he interrupted, looking at her square on, silently challenging her to look at him and think otherwise. “It _is,_ because that’s what it was supposed to be.” He huffed, allowing himself to step out of the corner. He crossed his arms. “I wasn’t lying. Fire benders don’t burn on accident. It takes effort.”

That took a moment to settle around the room, and Zuko could see it in their eyes as each of them finally processed his words and their meaning.

“Someone did that to you on _purpose_?” Aang asked, horror clear as day on his features. Zuko had to look away, the pity in Aang’s expression making his stomach turn.

“Yes. And anyone from the Fire Nation would see my face and know _exactly_ what it means.” After his banishment, Zuko didn’t often interact with fire benders or anyone from the Fire Nation, but when he did, he could tell they knew. He could tell by the embarrassment that radiated off their bodies after catching a glimpse of the scar, and by the way they were sure not to stick around him long. Scars weren’t uncommon as punishment. But one so obvious, large and directly on his face where everyone could see, had to mean something.

“Who did it?” Sokka asked the question Zuko was sure everyone wanted to ask. He sounded solemn, like maybe he didn’t actually want to hear the answer but knew it needed to be aired.

My dad. My own father. “Fire Lord Ozai.” It was easier this way, to say it as if to erase the fact that they were flesh and blood. Like he could pretend his family wasn’t completely ashamed of him.

Before anyone could even ask, Zuko continued. “I was disrespectful during a war meeting, so he challenged me to a fire bending duel.” His gaze went out of focus, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. “I didn’t fight back, so he just…” Zuko raised a hand to an invisible figure bowing in front of him and begging for mercy. He reached out as if to cup their face, but suddenly produced a flame from his palm. He imagined holding it to the figure’s face—imagined keeping it there long after the skin began to blister and melt, long after the figure stopped screaming and went limp beneath his grip.

Zuko extinguished the flame in his hand. The room was cold and quiet, and he wrapped his arms around himself and looked to the floor. The smell of burnt hair lingered in his nose.

“It doesn’t matter what you did,” Aang finally spoke, breaking the chilled silence, “you didn’t deserve that.”

“Maybe,” Zuko muttered, not trusting himself to speak any louder.

“There’s no ‘maybe’ about it,” Suki added. “You didn’t.”

Toph was the first to move, stepping closer to Zuko. She was careful this time, moving slowly and deliberately so he knew she was coming. When she was close enough, she sniffed and cracked her neck, putting on a show of how casual she was being.

“I’m going to hug you now, Sparky.” It wasn’t a question, but Zuko understood that she was asking permission. When he didn’t move away, she closed the gap between them and hugged his midsection. Her grip was tight, almost too tight, but he appreciated its grounding effect. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

The others soon followed her lead, and suddenly Zuko was surrounded on each side by an unfamiliar kind of comfort. He looked at his friends, with their sad eyes and sunburnt skin, and felt a kind of heat bloom inside his chest. It was different than the heat he was used to, the kind that had been used to hurt him in the past. This was warm and secure and he felt certain it wouldn’t leave the kind of mark his father left on his face.

Zuko smiled softly and let himself melt into it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
